


you know your place in the sky

by gayreyna



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), Gen, Pre-Series, Roman prequels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25860586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayreyna/pseuds/gayreyna
Summary: in the midst of the assault on mount othrys, jason makes his choice. now reyna must make hers.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	you know your place in the sky

**Author's Note:**

> romantic jeyna makes me itchy but platonic jeyna gives me strength. really fucking wish we got to see more of what their relationship was like pre-HoO minus the cringey ""almost romance"" lines but oh well looks like i have to do everything around here

" you still get to be the hero. " he says, all forced bravado but reyna can see terror spiking in those electric blue eyes.

they were probably the only people able to see past each other's facades, the fake versions of themselves that they had built up. the fake versions that had been built up for them by new rome itself. reyna knows jason can see the strong, tender-hearted girl who just wants a home and a people she can love and protect— not the cold and prickly daughter of bellona who hungers only for power and control. and even now, in the whirlwind of battle that forces jason to put on his bravest face, reyna sees a boy who just wants to do the right thing, who believes so firmly in protecting his friends at whatever cost. not the champion of new rome, born feral and mostly stayed that way. son of jupiter so innately born to lead, to be powerful, to be a weapon. no, reyna can see all he really wants to be is kind.

camp jupiter has made weapons of them all, but rome's golden boy had been particularly well-honed. new rome is his birthright, because of course it is. he is jupiter's son. if he survived this battle, praetorship would be handed to him on a silver platter _(_ well, technically a golden shield _)_. maybe at another time, reyna would feel a bitterness because in a sea of nepotism and deceit, she had managed through hard work and diplomacy to garner the legion's favor all on her own. but she knows now she has no reason to be jealous of jason, of the burden placed on his shoulders. reyna knows what they call him behind his back, hushed whispers from the senators, even some from his fellow centurions when they know he isn't around. becoming praetor means reyna is privy to these conversations, these secrets, these plans. rome had raised him like a lamb for the slaughter so when they dub him their _saving grace_ with that knowingly grave tone, it leaves a heavy feeling in reyna's stomach. 

and here they are, dying in a war they do not understand. all the augury in the world could not tell them why the titans had risen so quickly and so quietly. they don't know how they had organized such forces, or why now was the time to strike with vengeance against the gods. they don't know why they sometimes slash into a monster, only to draw back their weapon and find it soaked in blood. bodies that do not burst into dust, but cry out with their last breath for godly parents that do not listen— sometimes cursing them, sometimes begging them, but it does not matter because reyna knows the gods hardly hear them.

“ i don’t want to be the hero! not when this is the cost. “

she's shouting over the din of the battle, words almost drowned out by the clash of claw against metal or sword against shield. scipio is skittish beside her, eager to take flight again, but not before reyna can finish calling new orders for their flanking infantry. the titan army seems to have no end, even as the legion’s onagers send pieces of the palace crumbling down. monsters still rush from their stronghold and descend upon them, thousands upon thousands of creatures that soon will be overwhelming. rome’s best tacticians had spent days planning the assault. they had come to mount othrys prepared. reyna didn’t think jason had come prepared to die.

 _the legion is yours_ , he tells her. _yours to lead, yours to protect_. 

a sadness aches in her chest, spurred on as she recalls all the times jason would look at her and say, " you are a much better roman than i. " sometimes it was after a particularly well-fought gladiator match, or in the aftermath of her clever plan during one of their quests. sometimes it was said with a small chuckle and that scarred smile, other times it was said with utmost sincerity. and after denying it for so long, reyna knows it to be true now, because in the best interest of rome, she must send him to fulfill his purpose.

reyna feels her face twist with worry, maybe a little bit of guilt, but she fixes a steely look. what choice did they have? they had to defeat krios and stop his masses, subdue the forces here for the safety of everyone in new rome. future generations of demigods, the health and happiness of everyone back home, it all depends on them. they must slay this titan. reyna just wishes jason didn’t feel the need to do it alone.

the titan looms overhead on the mountains highest point, his skin glittering like jewels embedded in a cavern wall. it's a cruel mimicry of the stars that are of his domain, ram horns sprouting from his head which add to his hulking appearance. reyna can't hear him, but krios wears a taunting grin as the legion's army begins to fall. 

jason has made his choice. now reyna must make hers.

she pulls jason in for a hug, even in the midst of the battle brewing around them, and feels a familiar burning on her forearm. hot as a brand stoked in flames, but it's been burning since the battle started so she hardly minds. reyna is met with a mixture of not-so familiar emotions and all it does is make her want to not let go. but she pushes herself away, touches his face gently for just a moment to wipe away some of the monster dust that’s settled on his cheek. reyna scans his expression frantically, tries to memorize the details— the hard set of his jaw, the light in his eyes. the sometimes forgettable things one doesn’t always remember to see. it may be the last time she sees her best friend like this, or even at all.

“ we’ll clear a path for you to the throne room, keep the monsters at bay for as long as we can. “

**Author's Note:**

> as always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome.


End file.
